Navy honors King who donated land for Sattahip Naval Base

Military, government and local residents marked the 86th anniversary of the death of HM King Vajiravudh, who donated the land on which the Sattahip Naval Base was eventually built.

Adm. Polwat Sirirodom, a naval consultant, presided over the Nov. 25 ceremony at the newly constructed HM King Rama VI monument on Sukhumvit Road’s sixth-kilometer marker. Navy and representatives of the public and private sectors laid wreaths at the statue, honoring the monarch credited with fermenting Thai nationalism.

High ranking navy officers pay tribute to HM King Rama VI.

In addition to creating the rank of general in the Thai military, Rama VI set aside royal land in 1925 to construct the navy’s new headquarters in 1922.

In June, former naval base commander Vice Adm. Suthat Khayim decided that the King, who died Nov. 25, 1925, did not get enough recognition for his contribution to the navy and Sattahip area and pushed for the construction of a permanent monument. He decreed that HM King Rama VI would be honored on the anniversary of his death each year.